Oxnard's Brandon Rios ready for biggest fight of his career — Manny Pacquiao

Brandon Rios is ready for the biggest fight of his career

JUAN CARLO/THE STAR
Brandon Rios hits the gloves after sparring for nine rounds at Robert Garcia Boxing Gym in Oxnard. Rios is getting ready for the biggest fight of his career against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday in China.

Ventura County Star

As Brandon Rios watches his life chronicled on the current installment of HBO's popular "24/7" series, the Oxnard boxer has to be wondering if he's dreaming.

There was a time early in Rios' life when the only TV show he appeared destined to be featured on was "Cops."

Rios' ability to land a punch outside of the boxing ring landed him in trouble more than a few times.

Thanks to the support of his friend and trainer, Robert Garcia, his wife Vicky, and his willingness to mature, Rios has blossomed as a person and a fighter.

"If it weren't for boxing I'd be in jail right now," Rios said. "Not because of anger. I was just a hyper kid. I'm always jumping around.

"Some people don't like it, so, boom, we fight. Boxing took me away from all that. It's destiny."

Just a week away from his mega-fight against legendary champion Manny Pacquiao in Macau, China, Rios believes he's ready to take the next step toward boxing superstardom.

"Robert and I are going in with a great game plan and we are going to shock the world and show them what kind of a fighter I am," Rios said. "I don't care what people think, if I have a chance or not. I am just going to prove everybody wrong.

"And that's good; they are not giving me credit. That makes me train harder and gives me the drive to show them and shut them up."

It will be Garcia's second chance at implementing a plan to beat Pacquiao. In 2010, Antonio Margarito lost a unanimous decision to Pacquiao after being trained by Garcia.

His past history with Pacquiao and his well-known trainer, Freddie Roach, doesn't concern Garcia.

"It's totally different," Garcia said. "Margarito was 10 years older than Brandon is. He was fighting at a catch weight of 150 pounds and he had to suffer to come down that weight. He was also dealing with controversy from the gloves issue and that was in his head. I was less experienced, and since then Pacquiao was knocked out.

"We'll be more ready this time. This the biggest fight of his (Rios) career and my career, and we're going to surprise the world."

Rios (31-1-1, 23 KOs) has trained longer — three months — and harder than he has ever had before a fight.

The first weeks of camp were particularly challenging because Rios was trying to get comfortable battling a southpaw.

Rios admitted his initial sparring sessions with the lefties brought in to spar with him led to some frustration.

"The first few days I felt like I had never been the ring before," Rios said. "It was tough. I got hit a lot and I lost my mind for a little bit.

"But the next week it got better, and it just kept getting easier and easier. Now I feel very comfortable fighting against a left-hander."

Both fighters have lost their last bout — Rios on a decision to Mike Alvarado; Pacquiao was shockingly knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez.

It was the second straight setback for Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KOs), who lost a controversial split decision to Timothy Bradley.

Bradley and Marquez are counter punchers, so it has been suggested Pacquiao picked Rios because he believes Rios' aggressive style will make him an easy target to hit.

Rios has stated he believes Pacquiao is looking at the fight as just a tune-up for something bigger down the road.

While Pacquiao has avoided any negative chatter toward Rios, Roach pulled no punches last week.

"The more I see of Rios in the tapes the better I feel," Roach said. "He's just a tough guy and tough guys don't win fights. Manny can outbox him and he can do it with ease.

"He's (Rios) moving up to 147 and still had to lose weight. That tells you what kind of discipline he has and I think we are going to take advantage of that. I think Manny will knock him out inside six rounds."

When they took the fight, one of Garcia's first moves was to get the ultra-aggressive Rios to be think more defensively.

Garcia turned to his father and longtime trainer, Eduardo Garcia, to help him improve Rios' defensive skills and develop a strategy.

"I talk to my dad about all my fighters, but this time he was going to be here (in Oxnard) because of Mikey (Garcia) training here for his fight," Garcia said. "For this fight, he will be in the corner with me."

Throughout camp, the Garcias have made it clear that Rios must defend himself at all times and be selective about when to make a charge.

"My dad and I have put together a great game plan for Brandon and we have been watching the Pacquiao tapes together," Garcia said. "... We have to be smart. We have to be ready for the best Pacquiao. For him, it's do or die. Our game plan has turned out really good. If Brandon follows instructions and does everything we tell him to do ... we should come out with good results."

Eduardo Garcia's input is just one example of how important fathers are to the Rios team.

Rios' dad, Manny, will be ringside to see his son's biggest fight.

Each time Rios has reached a milestone goal in his career, such as fighting on HBO for the first time or getting a chance to compete for a world title, Manny Rios has been there for his son.

"He's listening to the guys in the plant (where he works), telling him, ‘Hey, Brandon's no good and that Pacquiao will knock him out,' " Rios said.

"So he's making bets with everybody there. That gives me more motivation. I don't want him to lose that money."

Rios is expected to earn close to $4 million, the largest payday of his career. Being in a big-money fight against a star like Pacquiao allows Rios to check off another box on his list of career goals.

"When I set goals for myself," Rios said, "I wanted to earn $1 million for a fight, and to be able to buy a house by 25. I'm 27 and I own two houses.

"Even more important, I have a great wife and family. I am really blessed."

As the underdog, Rios feel it's a fight without a downside.

"If I lose, people will say that's what was supposed to happen," Rios said. "But if I win, it opens all kinds of opportunities for me.